Anyone want a recommendation for a good summer porch swing novel that will leave you without a dry eye for some time...I recommend The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Serious cryfest!!! If you feel like a GOOOOOOD cry, this is it! It's mesmerizing and you seriously feel so hurt and sympathetic for every person in it. At the same time it's so sweet and so purely written. Recommended!

Nathanael walked into his interview and the interviewer said, "What's your name?" He answered, and she said, "I'm going to hire you." And that was that. He starts at Subway tomorrow. :)

Micah is whining there is no food in the house though I just went to the store yesterday. What he means is "I'm whining because my house is not a fast-food kitchen which will serve me at my convenience."



Quick quotes:

God is dead. -Nietsche



Nietsche is dead. -GOD

Micah came back from camp with more than his usual angst. The others there said that after the initial disappointment about the fireworks he had a good time. Shhhh- Micah doesn't want you to know that. He came back moaning and groaning about what a horrible thing it was. But he made some new friends, including three cute girls. "One of them can whistle through her nose," he hastens to add. Booyah! Now there's a keeper!

Nathanael has a job interview at Subway at 10:00 on Monday- prayers appreciated! That boy neeeeeeds a job! :) I gave him the usual tips- have confidence, neatness, punctuality, and a fresh shave.

Steve and Nathanael made a cornhole set. They're going to the Bonnell family reunion tomorrow. Micah and I are staying home. Micah has a cold and needs sleep. Neither he nor I want to go, though cornhole is too fun.

Saw the damage for myself- almost a total loss. Looks like Acton Lake just backed itself up into the basement. And foul as that lake, too. Mold of all colors, everywhere. Most things are utterly unsalvageable. There wasn't too terribly much there that mattered a whole lot, but some of the books that were higher up are OK, and a few souvenirs. Recovered- my mom's coaster set gathered from restaurants and bars worldwide...my dad's menagerie of little snow globes from around the planet. LOL Hey at least it's not Mom's Gaults and all those other little collectibles that cost a bundle each.

Micah went to confirmation camp today- disgruntled- he'd just spent the night in the tent in the backyard with Brian. Anyway, he whined and complained because he'd miss the St. Vivian father's day fireworks. Wellll....it's out of his pleasure zone.....some things are just tuff...

Get back from all that to receive a call from Dan who had stopped by Mom and Dad's while they were in Greece to find the basement had been flooded. The water had gone up to 2 feet and receded. Almost everything in the basement is a total loss except whatever was up high. This includes some really old records and paintings by my grandma. The furnace, a bed/mattress, closet doors, stairway, hundreds of old National Geographics (some dating from about 1912 onward), walls, stairs, an old old stereo and speakers, probably the pool table, a bunch of other old books, and lots of other old junk and some good junk, well it's all shot. Mom and Dad came back today and had no idea...Dan and Dave and Steve and Nathanael did the best they could to clean up, take pictures, estimate loss for insurance, etc. Dan has already talked to the adjuster. What a surprise. They were jetlagged and shellshocked; I'm sure they just went to bed and will deal with it in the morning, happy that at least someone found out and started to deal with it ahead of them having to discover it themselves.

I babysat Dave's little kidlets and we all had a whopping good time at McDonald's playland and playing outside.

I've been back on J. Craig for a while now and it is working. I had gained so much weight working at Hillman. Everyone brings in treats all the time. I had really gained a lot of what I had previously lost. I found myself unable to fit into a lot of my "skinny" clothes so I finally got real with myself and went back and got on the scales for real and now I'm down about 10 pounds. Getting closer to my goal I set for myself in 2003 despite all the yo-yoing. I had been SO close when I stopped last time...this time that won't happen. And I have maintenance for life and a meal discount plan now. So after my goal weight is achieved, once I find myself gaining 3 or 5 pounds, I can just go back and get on the plan again.

Regarding the ruins of Babylon- I think my husband has pix of the ruins- citadel- from when he was in Iraq- I will try to scan & post if possible-
Ann

Dan,

One of Dr. Y's phD students is looking at your post.

I know Dr. Y is ONE person in the world you respect. Maybe you could bring your REAL questions about the Bible to him.

OK Dan, you're a funny guy.

Now if you ever want to have a SERIOUS discussion, here's the number.

1-626-335-5282

I will be putting some other things up here, too, for anyone who wants to read them. But I'm not going to seriously answer obtuse ramblings or absurdities. I might laugh because you're actually pretty funny, but the subject itself isn't meant for mockery. When you're grownup enough to scrutinize something seriously, I'll talk about it again.

I'm seriously considering taking up a coworker's invite to stay at his and his ex's B&B for FREE...on St. Thomas...for a week toward the end of August. All I'd have to pay is air fare and some other incidentals. Of course he's being gracious and I would offer to help. This is the week they don't have guests anyway and he has invited...

I would have to forego Crowduck if I do this...which I don't want to do...but yet this is new and I've been to Crowduck many times and Dave now has a babysitter. I'm kinda torn but maybe after the kids come back from Crowduck with their dad and my family, they'd get to go to the Virgin Islands with me. If my coworker agrees on that. I can help my coworker put up hurricane guards, etc. This will so rawk. I will try to find the home page of this place and tell me YOU would pass this up.

It could be I could go to St. Thomas a few months later like April 2007 and go on to Crowduck this year, so we'll see. It may be a possibility.

Nathanael

Nathanael's grades came yesterday- All A's except one B and that was in an honors class, and even that may change to an A (there may have been a mistake). But in any case, he did a great job. Junior year is often the toughest.

The following is pretty good reading.

Also discussed was other predictions, like Jeanne Dixon & astrology etc., saying that even other sources that are NOT from God could come to maybe 60% accuracy. And even that is stretching pretty far, considering that my "prediction" (Capricorn) has never even been close to 60%. Nor has the Chinese calendar (I'm a Dragon). I'm a goat and a dragon, lol. You pick. I respect PEOPLE who believe in astrology, but I don't respect astrology and the like.

Anyway, off that subject, please read forward to all the really awesome things that DID come true as forecast by God.

There are others, such as the prediction of Daniel of the four empires (including Alex the Great) that would take place (and each of the four did take place in history- go back to any history book of southern Europe/middle east). Will try to find all of that later.

I'm not good at apologetics. I know what I believe and why, but debating and explaining are not my strong points. So please bear with me. Forgive me if I bring it people who are better at it than I am. The art of debating and apologetics exhausts me though there are many Christians who thrive on it.

Blogger's note: Due to formatting errors I am having trouble fixing the scientific notation...bear with me... if something says 1 in 108, it is not out of a hundred and eight, it's one in 10 to the 8th power. I tried to fix the SN and I'm sure you'll figure it out (small numbers normally on top but in my blog I do things my way and so I say they go on bottom, lol, only because I can't fix it!).

Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible
by Hugh Ross, Ph.D.
Unique among all books ever written, the Bible accurately foretells specific events-in detail-many years, sometimes centuries, before they occur. Approximately 2500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter—no errors. (The remaining 500 or so reach into the future and may be seen unfolding as days go by.) Since the probability for any one of these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance averages less than one in ten (figured very conservatively) and since the prophecies are for the most part independent of one another, the odds for all these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance without error is less than one in 102000 (that is 1 with 2000 zeros written after it)!

As economy does not permit an explanation of all the Biblical prophecies that have been fulfilled, what follows in a discussion of a few that exemplify the high degree of specificity, the range of projection, and/or the "supernature" of the predicted events. Readers are encouraged to select others, as well, and to carefully examine their historicity.

(1) Some time before 500 B.C. the prophet Daniel proclaimed that Israel's long-awaited Messiah would begin his public ministry 483 years after the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25-26). He further predicted that the Messiah would be "cut off," killed, and that this event would take place prior to a second destruction of Jerusalem. Abundant documentation shows that these prophecies were perfectly fulfilled in the life (and crucifixion) of Jesus Christ. The decree regarding the restoration of Jerusalem was issued by Persia's King Artaxerxes to the Hebrew priest Ezra in 458 B.C., 483 years later the ministry of Jesus Christ began in Galilee. (Remember that due to calendar changes, the date for the start of Christ's ministry is set by most historians at about 26 A.D. Also note that from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is just one year.) Jesus' crucifixion occurred only a few years later, and about four decades later, in 70 A.D. came the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 105.)*

(2) In approximately 700 B.C. the prophet Micah named the tiny village of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Israel's Messiah (Micah 5:2). The fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Christ is one of the most widely known and widely celebrated facts in history.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 105.)

(3) In the fifth century B.C. a prophet named Zechariah declared that the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of a slave—thirty pieces of silver, according to Jewish law-and also that this money would be used to buy a burial ground for Jerusalem's poor foreigners (Zechariah 11:12-13). Bible writers and secular historians both record thirty pieces of silver as the sum paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus, and they indicate that the money went to purchase a "potter's field," used—just as predicted—for the burial of poor aliens (Matthew 27:3-10).
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 1011.)

(4) Some 400 years before crucifixion was invented, both Israel's King David and the prophet Zechariah described the Messiah's death in words that perfectly depict that mode of execution. Further, they said that the body would be pierced and that none of the bones would be broken, contrary to customary procedure in cases of crucifixion (Psalm 22 and 34:20; Zechariah 12:10). Again, historians and New Testament writers confirm the fulfillment: Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman cross, and his extraordinarily quick death eliminated the need for the usual breaking of bones. A spear was thrust into his side to verify that he was, indeed, dead.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 1013.)

5) The prophet Isaiah foretold that a conqueror named Cyrus would destroy seemingly impregnable Babylon and subdue Egypt along with most of the rest of the known world. This same man, said Isaiah, would decide to let the Jewish exiles in his territory go free without any payment of ransom (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; and 45:13). Isaiah made this prophecy 150 years before Cyrus was born, 180 years before Cyrus performed any of these feats (and he did, eventually, perform them all), and 80 years before the Jews were taken into exile.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 1015.)

(6) Mighty Babylon, 196 miles square, was enclosed not only by a moat, but also by a double wall 330 feet high, each part 90 feet thick. It was said by unanimous popular opinion to be indestructible, yet two Bible prophets declared its doom. These prophets further claimed that the ruins would be avoided by travelers, that the city would never again be inhabited, and that its stones would not even be moved for use as building material (Isaiah 13:17-22 and Jeremiah 51:26, 43). Their description is, in fact, the well-documented history of the famous citadel.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 109.)

(7) The exact location and construction sequence of Jerusalem's nine suburbs was predicted by Jeremiah about 2600 years ago. He referred to the time of this building project as "the last days," that is, the time period of Israel's second rebirth as a nation in the land of Palestine (Jeremiah 31:38-40). This rebirth became history in 1948, and the construction of the nine suburbs has gone forward precisely in the locations and in the sequence predicted.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 1018.)

(8) The prophet Moses foretold (with some additions by Jeremiah and Jesus) that the ancient Jewish nation would be conquered twice and that the people would be carried off as slaves each time, first by the Babylonians (for a period of 70 years), and then by a fourth world kingdom (which we know as Rome). The second conqueror, Moses said, would take the Jews captive to Egypt in ships, selling them or giving them away as slaves to all parts of the world. Both of these predictions were fulfilled to the letter, the first in 607 B.C. and the second in 70 A.D. God's spokesmen said, further, that the Jews would remain scattered throughout the entire world for many generations, but without becoming assimilated by the peoples or of other nations, and that the Jews would one day return to the land of Palestine to re-establish for a second time their nation (Deuteronomy 29; Isaiah 11:11-13; Jeremiah 25:11; Hosea 3:4-5 and Luke 21:23-24).
This prophetic statement sweeps across 3500 years of history to its complete fulfillment—in our lifetime.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 120.)

(9) Jeremiah predicted that despite its fertility and despite the accessibility of its water supply, the land of Edom (today a part of Jordan) would become a barren, uninhabited wasteland (Jeremiah 49:15-20; Ezekiel 25:12-14). His description accurately tells the history of that now bleak region.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 105.)

(10) Joshua prophesied that Jericho would be rebuilt by one man. He also said that the man's eldest son would die when the reconstruction began and that his youngest son would die when the work reached completion (Joshua 6:26). About five centuries later this prophecy found its fulfillment in the life and family of a man named Hiel (I Kings 16:33-34).
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 107).

(11) The day of Elijah's supernatural departure from Earth was predicted unanimously—and accurately, according to the eye-witness account—by a group of fifty prophets (II Kings 2:3-11).
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 109).

(12) Jahaziel prophesied that King Jehoshaphat and a tiny band of men would defeat an enormous, well-equipped, well-trained army without even having to fight. Just as predicted, the King and his troops stood looking on as their foes were supernaturally destroyed to the last man (II Chronicles 20).
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 108).

(13) One prophet of God (unnamed, but probably Shemiah) said that a future king of Judah, named Josiah, would take the bones of all the occultic priests (priests of the "high places") of Israel's King Jeroboam and burn them on Jeroboam's altar (I Kings 13:2 and II Kings 23:15-18). This event occurred approximately 300 years after it was foretold.
(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 1013).

Since these thirteen prophecies cover mostly separate and independent events, the probability of chance occurrence for all thirteen is about 1 in 10138 (138 equals the sum of all the exponents of 10 in the probability estimates above). For the sake of putting the figure into perspective, this probability can be compared to the statistical chance that the second law of thermodynamics will be reversed in a given situation (for example, that a gasoline engine will refrigerate itself during its combustion cycle or that heat will flow from a cold body to a hot body)—that chance = 1 in 1080. Stating it simply, based on these thirteen prophecies alone, the Bible record may be said to be vastly more reliable than the second law of thermodynamics. Each reader should feel free to make his own reasonable estimates of probability for the chance fulfillment of the prophecies cited here. In any case, the probabilities deduced still will be absurdly remote.
Given that the Bible proves so reliable a document, there is every reason to expect that the remaining 500 prophecies, those slated for the "time of the end," also will be fulfilled to the last letter. Who can afford to ignore these coming events, much less miss out on the immeasurable blessings offered to anyone and everyone who submits to the control of the Bible's author, Jesus Christ? Would a reasonable person take lightly God's warning of judgment for those who reject what they know to be true about Jesus Christ and the Bible, or who reject Jesus' claim on their lives?
*The estimates of probability included herein come from a group of secular research scientists. As an example of their method of estimation, consider their calculations for this first prophecy cited:
Since the Messiah's ministry could conceivably begin in any one of about 5000 years, there is, then, one chance in about 5000 that his ministry could begin in 26 A.D.
Since the Messiah is God in human form, the possibility of his being killed is considerably low, say less than one chance in 10.
Relative to the second destruction of Jerusalem, this execution has roughly an even chance of occurring before or after that event, that is, one chance in 2.
Hence, the probability of chance fulfillment for this prophecy is 1 in 5000 x 10 x 2, which is 1 in 100,000, or 1 in 105.

first question

I'm going to take a stab at BEGINNING to answer the first question Dan asked. Here goes...

Is Christianity a theory?

A theory as I understand it is something that we can test to see what happens or what might have happened. In this case, I suppose that proving a theory is something that can be limited only to what we can empirically observe.

Will continue...I just got really busy at work...but think about how do we know that the "Founding Fathers" actually existed? How do we know that the founding of the US happened as has been described in our history books...the Revolutionary War...signing of the Declaration of Independence...all of that. We were not there. We don't even know anyone who was. Can you actually prove to me they were there? I guess you can exhume some archaeological evidence. You can go see the declaration itself in a museum. You can look at the DNA of the bones (those that you can find0. You can look at the nose of my former coworker Priscilla Lanier which is the same as her predecessor (and father of more of the country than many others) Thomas Jefferson. The sequence of these events was documentned with a pretty good degree of accuracy.

What we call "Christianity" can also be supported with quite a bit of like evidence. I can go about and quote a lot of archaeological evidence, and I will try to find it for you. As to the supernatural quality of the biblical events, events recorded that were miraculous, shortly I am going to post a list of predictions. The c-dating, etc. of the texts show that these events did actually postdate their predictions. You will find the accuracy of these predictions to be precise to a point that NOT to believe in at least some intelligent being at work would be a bigger leap of faith at least from my point of view.

I will be posting it shortly- posting it directly loses its formatting so bear with me-
Ann

Virgilina,

Are Suf and Aussie man after your lady lumps again?????

It never ends, does it!
'
I'm gonna be posting a lot of the stuff you've emailed to me.

Hugh Ross rawks.

Someone mentioned the Amish...

I have actually met and visited Amish (very young when I did so)- they were way cool people and I love their lifestyle- great food and awesome woodwork and great work ethic. Don't care for the dark curtains and the narrow gene pool (of the later generations) from which to choose. But their sense of community and family are second to none. Hey they don't have to pay taxes and that's way cool by me.

I'm too old for a wildenrspreung. Sorry, German-speakers. Don't know if I spelled that right.

Everyone!!!!! If you want to comment on my blog, feel free to, no matter what you want to say. However, you will avoid looking ridiculous if you:

1. Recognize SARCASM when I write it.
2. Don't read other issues into the issue I address.
3. At least READ it before responding.

Anyone want to burst into hysterical laughter? I laughed so hard I almost had to stop the car. Micah was playing his Black-eyed Peas CD. Micah jumped to #5, which happens to be called....

My Humps.

It's the one on TV where the girl is trying on the jeans and the music is playing:

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk, in your trunk?

Listen to the rest of the lyrics (if you're over 25 maybe you haven't heard the song in full.)......you WILL laugh hard enough to embarrass your child who will say to you (as mine did), "If you had any style, you would like this song!" -which made me start laughing even harder. Man I nearly had to pull over.

Whatcha gonna do with those humps? What do you think of my lady lumps?

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure the FCC and Censorship Committees everywhere are wrinkling their brows and shaking their heads at the audacity of the Black-eyed Peas for singing such an offensive song, demeaning and objectifying women and all that...and as a parent, I just didn't get as concerned as I should have with my son's sensitive ears hearing something that didn't promote good family values...sigh...I just laughed so hard it embarrassed him into realizing how silly and stupid that song is.







Dan, I will be answer your questions. Give me a few days.

All right, I have been ruminating about the last responses to my post (Dan, and I don't know, but is the second poster Tracy?- not sure), but here goes:

I was responding to some things I had read over the weekend and hadn't meant to start this, and some things I wrote have been taken completely out of context or misinterpreted (my fault)but since you guys have broached some topics in and of yourselves, I will respond.

Poster 2 quoted Thomas Jefferson, and here's where what I'm saying differs.
I completely agree with him. If someone says there is no god or twenty or that the moon is made of green cheese, or that they can run 500 miles an hour, what difference does it make to me? NONE. It makes no difference to me what that person thinks.

But let me reiterate: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT ME.

Here's another paradigm and TRY to think through this and bear with me:

The REALITY is that there IS either no god, or one God, or twenty, or something.

The reality is that the moon is made of green cheese, or tofu, or rocks, or we are all imagining it, or some other alternative. What IS it made of? Well most people agree that the evidence is rocks. Before we could send anyone out there, we still believed it to be made of rocks, there was some proof of that, even though it was based on conjecture....but we did make some observations...

Likewise, I know that there is a reality, there is a God. I have seen evidence for myself. If others don't believe that, it is because they don't see that evidence, or I have trouble communicating it, or others don't want to hear it. One of those three. I can go into a lot of details communicating it, but if there are problems with the way I present it, it's just wasted breath. Or if others don't care to hear it, it is going to fall on deaf or unwilling ears. Or people who believe some other testimony, as in green cheese. Some people may believe for all they are worth that the moon is made of green cheese and I'm not arguing for their right to believe that. But the FACT is, it is not.

Now for the "young and immature" comment.
That was a response to my reading literature in which children and babies, they are carried into Heaven, they are too young to make any decisions like this, even though were they to live long enough they would mess up like the rest of us. And Jesus Christ says we are supposed to become like little children.

The gay/lesbian marriage thing- where did that come from??? People are reading a LOT into my posts I don't ever write or even imply! That just shows what the culture in general reads into Christianity. You don't come to it with a clean slate, just a lot of jaded thoughts due to what your preconceived notions already are...?

It does NOT matter to me whether you don't believe in God. I am not concerned that you agree with ME on anything! It is NOT ABOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get it straight!

Computers having downtime at work so I have a few free moments.

I read some things this weekend, some enlightening and some very sobering. It is changing my life. And it doesn't matter if my life has changed if that cannot produce the change in other lives.

Say someone is laughing and joking and running. He is so busy with his life and its concerns that he doesn't realize he is running toward a high cliff. He is going to fall from the cliff. I am the ONLY one who can see what is happening. When I try to warn him, he tells me not to spoil his day. He can do as he pleases. And if there is a cliff, he will just then jump off, who cares. I guess it is up to me, then, to warn him and tell him and provide him with a road to the bridge. If he is attentive and listens to me, he will do that and pay attention to where he is going. But if he doesn't like my message, and continues, and continues, until he falls from the cliff, I can grieve for him that he didn't listen, but I cannot for all my life make him listen.

The enlightening fact is there is a bridge. And those who are too young or immature to understand the warning to go across the bridge, are carried over the bridge. The sobering problem is that there is a cliff and so many people are falling off it quite willingly, not believing it is a serious problem.



Went to Erin's graduation celebration at Dave's. Dave wasn't there but guess-who showed up with her new husband. She had gotten thin during the divorce, but has now ballooned out like a pufferfish. She was living in another world. Of course I was polite because she is the mother of those children. Dan and Tracy and Maria had a harder time being nice to her. Husband #4 is clueless about the whole situation that has led up to where he entered the picture. He just looked lost and paced around smoking cigarettes making small conversation and trying to be nice. I could tell he was a bit agitated. Steve zoned out the whole time. I played with the children. I hold no grudge against Rachael because I know she's lost.

Micah is going on to the 8th grade!!!! Principal had all but assured us but we wouldn't be sure until the very end.
Micah has a crush on a lot of girls but right now the main one he likes is Allie. Allie was rescued from the clutches of an evil government- China's- probably from an orphanage- many of which in China are wretched places. Such an evil government that imposes such things on a sixth of the world. Girls are regularly aborted, discarded, abandoned, killed. Some boys, too, but mainly girls. You're allowed one child and if that one's a girl, well, you know what happens.
It is individuals here (like the Taylors ) who adopt, not our own government, who rescue them and orphans from other countries and our own. People in our church have adopted from Korea and Guatemala, too. Boy do we have to watch who adopts, though. I saw an expose where a single man went to Russia, adopted a little girl, and then made porn of her until she was rescued from him at about age 11 or so when she told someone about this.
Hell is hot, but surely it must be much hotter for those who do that to children.

Nathanael took the SAT again today. The first time he had taken it, he didn't have time to finish the essay. But he scored a perfect 800 on the reading section. Math was good too but he wanted to improve on it. He thinks he did better today. Kudos to him. Grades were great too- exempt from most of his exams. Don't have the report card yet but...I know it's going to be nice. Now, let's get him a job and finally his license. He has no real ambition to drive. Likes to bike everywhere. That's fine, but he has to at least know how to drive. Which he does, but doesn't have enough practice and isn't confident- needs more practice.